Utilization of Webpage: I plan to use this website to post helpful tips and links that I have come across. I will post them so that other people can hopefully find them helpful and use them when they begin to teach. I will try to include a little description of everything that I put on it so that it will be clear on what the websites are used for. Teaching Philosophy:I believe that technology should be should be integrated into teaching. With so many students having so many diverse needs technology can help all children to be able to understand and participate in the lessons. When I start teaching on my own I definitely want to use integrate technology into my lesson plans. I think that technology can benefit so many students, even the ones who don’t necessarily have a disability. I also think that in order for technology to really be useful in classrooms, the school needs to share a similar philosophy. I think that a limitation of using certain technologies can be resources that may or may not available in schools. Some of these programs are very costly and if the school district doesn’t think that they make a big enough difference they may not be willing to purchase the software. However, when a school agrees that technology is beneficial for students, they usually have many resources available for student use. Technology can be really beneficial to student learning and should be integrated into teaching. Useful Websites about Technology Integration and Assistive Technology: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/bcisd/classres/intideas.htm This website gives a lot of ideas on how to integrate technology into a classroom using basic technology such as word or excel. I think this website is helpful for a few reasons. The first thing I like is how it shows how to use technology that most teachers have access to. Most schools have computer labs that have Microsoft office. This website gives ideas on how to use these programs instead of high tech program like kidspiration that not every school has. Another thing I like about it is how it gives you ideas for multiple subjects. I think this is very helpful. Another thing I like about this website is the suggestions it gives can be used with all students. It may need to be modified for certain students but it is something that a whole class can use and get something out of. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech146.shtml This website has a ton of information on technology use in classrooms. This particular section of the website focuses on tips to make using technology easier. I know that many people get nervous at the prospect of using technology in their classrooms. They’re not very comfortable using technology themselves so that translates into them not thinking they can use in their lessons. This website gives many tips on how to use technology most effectively and in a user friendly manner. It also provides additional links to help users further integrate technology into their lives and teaching. http://www.suelebeau.com/techresources.htm This website contains information on classroom resources in technology. The creator of the website has compiled a huge list of links that help teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. There is everything from technology lesson plan templates to instructional use of the internet. I think it has a ton of useful information on how to make technology work. There are also many activities listed on the website that are on the internet or power point which are available for teachers to use in their classroom. http://www.4teachers.org/ This is another good website that helps teachers integrate technology into their teaching. There are many links on it to information on how to build lessons using technology and other sources to help teachers. There also is links to help teachers find ready to use web lessons, quizzes and other classroom activities. There’s also a student section with tools to help them. I think that this website is very well rounded and has something for everyone. http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst10.htm This website focuses on ways assistive technology can help students with autism. It has many different sections including one explaining what assistive technology is. It also has sections on different types of categories of need such as using visual representation systems. Under each of these categories they give examples and types of software that can be used to help with that section. Since autism is becoming such a hot topic I thought that this website would help show how assistive technology can aide these children. Content Area Websites: http://www.funbrain.com/ This website has a lot of cool games on it for students to play in many different areas such as math and reading. This would be a good place for children to go if they need some practice with some of their skills but are tired of doing worksheets and flashcards. This is an interactive site that has a lot of different activities for students to try. http://www.gamequarium.com/index2.htm This website has different games to go along with a wide variety of subjects including: math, social studies, science and many more. I think this site is helpful because it’s so broad. I also like that under each topic there are different subjects so that the students can really practice the area that they need it. http://www.starfall.com/ This website is really good for students who need additional help with reading. The website has really cool activities such as stories and card makers. The great thing about each of these things is that the website will read the words out loud so that students can hear how they should sound. In story mode the website will also read sounds so that students who have trouble with phonics can get additional practice. Assistive Technology and Reading Resources: [[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/products/wynn.asp','offsite','x')|WYNN™ Literacy Software Solution ]] [[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000.aspx','offsite','x')|Kurzweil 3000™]] [[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000USB.aspx','offsite','x')|Kurzweil 3000™ USB Port/Flash Drive]] [[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.wizcomtech.com/Wizcom/products/products.asp?fid=78','offsite','x')|The Quicktionary Reading Pen]] [[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.cast.org/products/ereader/','offsite','x')|aspireReader™]] [[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.humanware.com/en-new_zealand/products/learning_disabilities/_details/id_90/classmate_reader.html','offsite','x')|ClassMate Reader]] Read and Write Gold http://www.gatfl.org/ldguide/default.htm http://www.readingmadeez.com/home.html Articles: http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech087.shtml This article is about the school administrator’s role in technology integration. I think this article is helpful to read because it shows how much more beneficial technology use in schools can be if the principals and administrators are helping to implement it. So many times you hear of things not working in schools and many times it’s due to lack of support from the administration. I believe that in order for technology to be most beneficial the whole school needs to support the use of it. This article helps prove this point. http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME161.pdf This article is about the impact that technology has on student achievement. I think this article is helpful because it does a study on how technology can help improve student achievement. This is good for teachers to have to see for themselves and to show to other colleagues who may be skeptical about what technology can do for students. It also breaks down what areas of technology were most helpful to students. How I plan to improve my Knowledge:The main way that I plan to improve my knowledge on technology is to keep doing research on the types of technology that is available. Since technology is something that changes so rapidly, I think that it’s important that I never stop learning about it. I know that new products are always being developed and I think it’s important to be aware of these and be willing to try them out. I also never went to get stuck using one product and be unwilling to have a student switch to a different technology if it can benefit them. Again I think the biggest thing is to keep up on my research about what products are available and how they can benefit students. How my Ideas can be used by Teachers:I think the ideas that I’ve posted on this homepage can be used by many teachers. I tried to post links that I think teachers will find helpful in their teaching. I think that the links had many good ideas and ways that teachers can use technology to help their students learn. I also think that I tried to put up good descriptions of what the links are so that the teachers can easily know what the website has on it. I think this way it’s easy for them to navigate and pick a site that serves the need their looking for. I also tried to put a wide variety of resources on the webpage so that teachers can use it for multiple subjects. Sustainability of Homepage:I plan to maintain this homepage by continuing to make improvements on it. I want to keep it current in terms of the technology that is on the site and add new ones that I think would be helpful when they become available. Since I want this to be something that teachers can use as a resource I want to make sure that the resources are all still helpful and dated and if not change them. I also want to keep adding new things as I find them to further help out others and make it a very complete resource.
Teaching Philosophy: I believe that technology should be should be integrated into teaching. With so many students having so many diverse needs technology can help all children to be able to understand and participate in the lessons. When I start teaching on my own I definitely want to use integrate technology into my lesson plans. I think that technology can benefit so many students, even the ones who don’t necessarily have a disability. I also think that in order for technology to really be useful in classrooms, the school needs to share a similar philosophy. I think that a limitation of using certain technologies can be resources that may or may not available in schools. Some of these programs are very costly and if the school district doesn’t think that they make a big enough difference they may not be willing to purchase the software. However, when a school agrees that technology is beneficial for students, they usually have many resources available for student use. Technology can be really beneficial to student learning and should be integrated into teaching.
Useful Websites about Technology Integration and Assistive Technology:
http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/bcisd/classres/intideas.htm
This website gives a lot of ideas on how to integrate technology into a classroom using basic technology such as word or excel. I think this website is helpful for a few reasons. The first thing I like is how it shows how to use technology that most teachers have access to. Most schools have computer labs that have Microsoft office. This website gives ideas on how to use these programs instead of high tech program like kidspiration that not every school has. Another thing I like about it is how it gives you ideas for multiple subjects. I think this is very helpful. Another thing I like about this website is the suggestions it gives can be used with all students. It may need to be modified for certain students but it is something that a whole class can use and get something out of.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech146.shtml
This website has a ton of information on technology use in classrooms. This particular section of the website focuses on tips to make using technology easier. I know that many people get nervous at the prospect of using technology in their classrooms. They’re not very comfortable using technology themselves so that translates into them not thinking they can use in their lessons. This website gives many tips on how to use technology most effectively and in a user friendly manner. It also provides additional links to help users further integrate technology into their lives and teaching.
http://www.suelebeau.com/techresources.htm
This website contains information on classroom resources in technology. The creator of the website has compiled a huge list of links that help teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. There is everything from technology lesson plan templates to instructional use of the internet. I think it has a ton of useful information on how to make technology work. There are also many activities listed on the website that are on the internet or power point which are available for teachers to use in their classroom.
http://www.4teachers.org/
This is another good website that helps teachers integrate technology into their teaching. There are many links on it to information on how to build lessons using technology and other sources to help teachers. There also is links to help teachers find ready to use web lessons, quizzes and other classroom activities. There’s also a student section with tools to help them. I think that this website is very well rounded and has something for everyone.
http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst10.htm
This website focuses on ways assistive technology can help students with autism. It has many different sections including one explaining what assistive technology is. It also has sections on different types of categories of need such as using visual representation systems. Under each of these categories they give examples and types of software that can be used to help with that section. Since autism is becoming such a hot topic I thought that this website would help show how assistive technology can aide these children.
Content Area Websites:
http://www.funbrain.com/
This website has a lot of cool games on it for students to play in many different areas such as math and reading. This would be a good place for children to go if they need some practice with some of their skills but are tired of doing worksheets and flashcards. This is an interactive site that has a lot of different activities for students to try.
http://www.gamequarium.com/index2.htm
This website has different games to go along with a wide variety of subjects including: math, social studies, science and many more. I think this site is helpful because it’s so broad. I also like that under each topic there are different subjects so that the students can really practice the area that they need it.
http://www.starfall.com/
This website is really good for students who need additional help with reading. The website has really cool activities such as stories and card makers. The great thing about each of these things is that the website will read the words out loud so that students can hear how they should sound. In story mode the website will also read sounds so that students who have trouble with phonics can get additional practice.
Assistive Technology and Reading Resources:
[[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.freedomscientific.com/LSG/products/wynn.asp','offsite','x')|WYNN™ Literacy Software Solution ]]
[[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000.aspx','offsite','x')|Kurzweil 3000™]]
[[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000USB.aspx','offsite','x')|Kurzweil 3000™ USB Port/Flash Drive]]
[[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.wizcomtech.com/Wizcom/products/products.asp?fid=78','offsite','x')|The Quicktionary Reading Pen]]
[[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.cast.org/products/ereader/','offsite','x')|aspireReader™]]
[[javascript:popWin('/on_the_web.asp?siteid=http://www.humanware.com/en-new_zealand/products/learning_disabilities/_details/id_90/classmate_reader.html','offsite','x')|ClassMate Reader]]
Read and Write Gold
http://www.gatfl.org/ldguide/default.htm
http://www.readingmadeez.com/home.html
Articles:
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech087.shtml
This article is about the school administrator’s role in technology integration. I think this article is helpful to read because it shows how much more beneficial technology use in schools can be if the principals and administrators are helping to implement it. So many times you hear of things not working in schools and many times it’s due to lack of support from the administration. I believe that in order for technology to be most beneficial the whole school needs to support the use of it. This article helps prove this point.
http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME161.pdf
This article is about the impact that technology has on student achievement. I think this article is helpful because it does a study on how technology can help improve student achievement. This is good for teachers to have to see for themselves and to show to other colleagues who may be skeptical about what technology can do for students. It also breaks down what areas of technology were most helpful to students.
How I plan to improve my Knowledge: The main way that I plan to improve my knowledge on technology is to keep doing research on the types of technology that is available. Since technology is something that changes so rapidly, I think that it’s important that I never stop learning about it. I know that new products are always being developed and I think it’s important to be aware of these and be willing to try them out. I also never went to get stuck using one product and be unwilling to have a student switch to a different technology if it can benefit them. Again I think the biggest thing is to keep up on my research about what products are available and how they can benefit students.
How my Ideas can be used by Teachers: I think the ideas that I’ve posted on this homepage can be used by many teachers. I tried to post links that I think teachers will find helpful in their teaching. I think that the links had many good ideas and ways that teachers can use technology to help their students learn. I also think that I tried to put up good descriptions of what the links are so that the teachers can easily know what the website has on it. I think this way it’s easy for them to navigate and pick a site that serves the need their looking for. I also tried to put a wide variety of resources on the webpage so that teachers can use it for multiple subjects.
Sustainability of Homepage: I plan to maintain this homepage by continuing to make improvements on it. I want to keep it current in terms of the technology that is on the site and add new ones that I think would be helpful when they become available. Since I want this to be something that teachers can use as a resource I want to make sure that the resources are all still helpful and dated and if not change them. I also want to keep adding new things as I find them to further help out others and make it a very complete resource.